As the clock struck 6 p.m. Oct. 18, the school transformed into a “Haunted Asylum,” ready for students to enter the madness. With no football team, the school throws a Fall Dance instead of a traditional Homecoming dance. Earlier in the year, however, SGA gave students a choice to either continue the Fall Dance or try out Homecoming. After a close race, 40.2% of students voted for Homecoming and 59.8% voted for the Fall Dance, and the school’s tradition continued yet again. Still, this year a few differences changed the event compared to last year.

1. Location

The dance still took place on campus, but where each attraction resided was altered. Due to the gym floor’s recent renovation, the dance itself was moved to the cafeteria. There, pizza and popcorn chicken were served along with cold drinks and candy. Music from the DJ blasted through the room with students filling up the dance floor. 

“This year’s dance was my favorite so far,” visual senior Thomas Diaz said. “The cafeteria as the dance floor was a great change from the gym, the music was great, and something about it being my last Fall Dance also made it special.” 

Last year, the haunted house took place inside the newly renovated media center, before the bookshelves were installed. This year, however, it had to take place inside the gym locker rooms. A long line of students waiting their turn formed outside of Building 6.

The last big change was the maze’s location on the field. Last year, the field was mostly closed off due to construction and renovations. With the field open, the maze could take place on the grass. 

“The helpful thing this year was that we actually did do a maze my freshman year, 2021, so we kind of had a layout from that,” SGA communications representative and communications senior Raiqa Rayhan said

    2. Attractions

This year, Fall Dance had three main attractions: the dance, the haunted house, and the maze. 

The haunted house was placed in the gym locker rooms with scare actors (performers who scare guests) and asylum-themed decorations, including walls made with PVC pipes and black plastic sheets. SGA worked in and out of the haunted house, making sure things ran smoothly. 

“Me and my co-head (senior class council secretary and visual senior Laura Argaez) will be doing crowd control, we make sure people go in and out safely, and we’ll also check in the haunted house,” junior class council president and theatre junior Simrun Mendiratta said. “I’m just worried about those (PVC pipes) falling because when people get scared they bump into them.” 

The haunted house quickly became a popular attraction, with the line almost reaching the field entrance. However, the attraction was brought to a halt midway through the night after a mirror decoration near the end of the haunted house fell and shattered. Due to the hazardous shards of glass scattered through the walkway, SGA workers made the decision to shut it down for the rest of the evening, with the safety of the students in mind.

On the field, students attempted to escape the maze, made of black plastic sheets spray-painted with messages like “Freaks Inside.” Replacing last year’s escape room, the maze had music playing while students figured out how to get out. 

The dance in the cafeteria was full of decorations and lighting, including an escape banner, bloody footprints, and multicolored lighting. Students danced and took pictures and videos on the rotating selfie platform. The DJ kept the music going all night and food and drinks were served, including pizza, popcorn chicken, candy, cotton candy, canned beverages, water, and popcorn.

     3. Costume Trends

With students showing off their costumes, all sorts of styles and looks filled the school’s grounds. As each year passes, new characters and figures become popular and eventually inspire Halloween costumes. Corsets seemed to be a staple for many outfits, and many movies and shows inspired multiple looks, with “Saltburn” and “Beetlejuice” costumes being spotted throughout the dance. Animal print was also a recurring theme as well as princesses.